Ana falls to Vesnina in round one

Ana is out of the AEGON International in Eastbourne as she fell 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to world No.36 Elena Vesnina in the opening round. Despite hitting 11 aces and posting satisfying winners-to-unforced errors figures of 36-28 throughout the match, the seventh seed lacked aggression in sets two and three as gave the Russian the chance to take command.

Ana made by far the better start and she stormed into a 4-0 lead as Vesnina failed to settle in the early stages of the match. In fact, it was mainly due to Ana’s merit, as she swept some brilliant return winners and denied the Russian the chance to find her rhythm. Vesnina snatched back one break of serve but could not threaten Ana, who sealed the set with another blistering down-the-line return winner.

After impressively claiming the opening set, Ana gradually lost control over the match. The 25 year-old managed to save a break point in the opening game, but she surrendered her serve on the following occasion.

Crucially, Ana could not take advantage of two break opportunities herself in the sixth game, with Vesnina serving extremely well on the major points at this moment of the match.

The Russian took the driver’s seat, drawing Ana out of position and impeding her ability to dominate the rallies. The seventh seed was unable to force the re-break as the contest went into a deciding act.

In set three, Ana got a 3-2 lead on the scoreboard, but saw the match slip away as Vesnina reeled off four games to wrap up victory.